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Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Cathead Biscuits (Say what?)

This recipe was printed in the April 2010 issue of Cook's Country Magazine (Cook's Illustrated). I am just now getting around to sharing it with you. This is the same issue where I found the recipe for Creamy Asparagus Soup. The soup is fast, delicious and one of my top favorites. My family says I make the best soups (and I thank them). However, they also expect some kind of bread with their soup. As I was making the aforementioned soup, I realized I didn't have bread on hand. I decided to try this recipe. Now, I'm a California girl. I'm not a Southern Belle, nor am I a Texas resident. Therefore, my disclaimer is that I am neither a big fan of biscuits nor do I think I'd win blue ribbons for my biscuit making skills. Actually, I think I've only made biscuits (from scratch) once before. Croissants? Yes, I love them. I have yet to make those from scratch, and I don't see that anytime in the near future-- I know what work and how much butter that entails. Homemade Buttery yeast rolls? You bet! Biscuits? Eh. The article that came with the recipe intrigued me, and so I decided to test my waters as a biscuit baker:

Cat Head Biscuits

When we spied “cat head biscuits” on a highway billboard near Greensboro, N.C., we did an immediate double take (not to mention a U-turn) to see what exactly they were. Aside from an unfortunate name, the biscuits themselves were tender and moist with a golden brown, craggy exterior and well worth reproducing back in the test kitchen. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

Traditional cat heat biscuit recipes were made with lard, but most modern recipes use shortening instead. We found shortening alone to be too artificial tasting, so we substituted most of the shortening for butter.

To create a more tender biscuit, use an equal mix of cake flour and all-purpose. Most biscuit recipes call for cold fat, which is “cut” into the dry ingredients to promote a flaky texture. Because we were after a fluffy texture, softened butter and shortening worked in with warm hands worked much better.

There’s no need to knead this biscuit dough; just use a portion scoop to scoop out hefty lumps into a cake tin.

MIXDOUGH: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 9-inch cake pan. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Rubwith fingers Using my food processor, I pulsed the butter and shortening into flour mixture until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in buttermilk until combined. (As you can see, I have a love affair with my Cuisinart. Use your hands, as Cook's Country did. I'll still love you.) I like to add parchment paper; I buy pre-cut round parchment paper at King Arthur Flour. Use a greased 1/2-cup measure or large spring-loaded ice cream scoop to transfer 6 heaping portions of dough into prepared pan, placing 5 around pan’s perimeter and 1 in center.

This was so quick, that I was smiling at how effortless this was to make.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve.

VERDICT: While I cannot resist a yeast roll, I was pleased with how easy these are to make. They were, indeed, tender (even though I used a food processor). My family loves to dunk rolls into soup, and these were well-liked. I liked them, but I'll still go for the Pioneer Woman's Buttered Rosemary Rolls before any kind of biscuit. Just sayin'! If YOU love biscuits, give these a try. They're fast and easy. I'd make this recipe, again, but would be very tempted to add some fresh chives and even some cheese.

In the meantime, I like butter and honey. Yeah, that will do just fine!

I couldn't resist posting this photo. I was comparing the biscuits to one of our geriatric felines. This is our own sweet "Cat Head" -- "Camo". She and her sister are almost 13 years old now.

Life happens! As others have said in the past. We hope life gets a little easier for you when you've finished with your endeavors at getting your esthetician career back on track. We will be here for you. In the meantime I think I need to make these biscuits to pair up with some jams and jellies for breakfast. Looking forward to more of your wonderful recipes whenever you can find the time to post them for us.

Deb,I am sorry you are working so hard this summer and not in the kitchen as much. I miss your posts.The biscuits look great, and I LOVE Camo! He looks like my Shasta, who is gone one year ago today. :{

This looks so delicious and easy. Thanks for taking the time to share. I can relate to your work/time issues. I went back to work full time last week, after being a SAHM for the past 5 years. It is a difficult transition and I'm not sure how my blog fits in with life right now.

Oh my, I think I would drop dead if I had a schedule like that No wonder you haven't had time to blog. I sure hope things get a little easier for you. I do miss your posts and recipes, but on the bright side I can now take the time to wander about your blog and check out all of your past recipes that I have missed. :)Mmmm, biscuits! Love 'em and make them at least once a week. My family is like yours..bread with soup. Makes it easier to sop up what's at the bottom of the bowl.:) So usually it's biscuits with soup or corn bread biscuits when I make chili.

Hi, Debby. I enjoyed this typically fine post of yours as much as I like CI or ATK, of course. Initially I was worried that my cats might not like the idea of the biscuit's name (the smaller one is a laptop-cat, sitting on the keyboard when she feels like, while the larger, George, is fortunately just a lapcat!).

Wow what a schedule you are keeping! The biscuit recipe is interesting, and I do love biscuits, but I am going to ck out the rolls you mentioned.PS Please stop by my blog (http://judyskitchen.blogspot.com) and enter my $70 giveaway. Deadline Sun., 7/25, midnight. Open to all.

Just curious, how many biscuits did you end up with? The recipe says it makes six, but I made this exact same recipe this evening with very heaping scoops of an ice cream scoop, and I had enough dough for eight biscuits.

I'm sorry you can't see the recipe card. Sometimes, Internet Explorer causes that problem and I don't know what to say. Try using Google Chrome or Mozilla...or go to www.keyingredient.com and then find my profile "foodiewife" and you will see ALL of my recipe cards. If that doesn't work, email me at foodiewife@gmail.com and I will send you the link.

Welcome!

Welcome to my internet kitchen. Please, sit back and relax, and watch me make delicious food and bakery recipes. Most of my recipes are simple, flavorful meals-- and a few baked treats. I focus on using fresh, seasonal ingredients and I try to avoid using boxed mixes and processed foods. I'm having fun learning how to cook like my grandmother once did-- from scratch! I hope that my step-by-step photos will inspire a timid cook to try them. Even if you're a seasoned cook, hopefully you'll learn a new tip or two.

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